


This Time Around

by Qwacker



Category: Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Genre: Gen, Lloyd discovers the wonders of PTSD, Lloyd has a cool Origin friendship tattoo, No Beta We Die Like Zelos, Or rather attempted fix-it on Lloyd's part, Possibility of Zelloyd, There are two Lloyds running around, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27785569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Qwacker/pseuds/Qwacker
Summary: Lloyd had thought it would be easier this time around.Except for the part where he's apparently no longer tied to Origin by a pact.And the part where he has to hide there are currently two Lloyd Irvings.And the one where there are entire temples hidden behind the summon spirit altars, dedicated to Ratatosk's centurions who are A Thing.And the implications behind Cruxis keeping the bodies of the past Chosens.And seeing Zelos alive and breathing.And-
Relationships: Lloyd Irving & Origin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 11





	1. In the eyes of All That Ever Was

“Wha-what’s happening?!” Lloyd cried through gritted teeth. 

Had he only looked down, he would have noticed his own body was crumbling, eating itself up trying to power the eternal sword using it’s own reserves of Mana. As it was, he was far too busy concentrating on his task, and the agonizing pain.

From between his hands, the eternal sword chimed with Origin’s voice.

“You were warned. The Great Seed is too far, lost to this world. Were you to even catch up to it and become it’s vessel, the seed would latch itself to Derris Kharlan and you along with it. Continue as you are and you will die.”

“But if I stop now, everyone will die anyway!” 

The world was barely reunited, and it was already falling apart under his feet.

Lloys flew higher, fighting the growing cold in his veins and forcing himself not to look at his companions, some no doubt already dead from the mana being pulled towards Derris Kharlan.

“Please…” His hand reached towards the Great Seed.

“Please!” Just a little more…

“The pact maker is dead. Our pact no longer holds.” Origin says, simply, just as he reaches his goal.

Lloyd is so close to the seed that the lack of Mana no longer is a problem to him. And yet he can’t breathe at all.

The Eternal sword dissipates, leaving the summon spirit behind, one pair of arms crossed in front of them.

“Aselia and it’s inhabitants have perished.” their eyes flicker towards the planet of the Angels. “What of the seed? Will you let it pursue it’s trajectory?”

Lloyd looks down at what he now knows is called Aselia. Were it any other situation he’d quirk a smile at the resemblance to Iselia. All he can do right now is stare at the blackened horizon. Plants and fauna had died alike, in a mere few minutes. There was nothing left in this world. Nothing that would profit from a mana tree.

Fists clenched Lloyd thought for a fragment of a second of striking it down. Of depriving Cruxis, and then storming their planet.

But what would that accomplish. Death for the sake of vengeance? Lloyd was sick of death. 

Iselia, Luin, Heimdal, Ozette, his mom, Marble, Dorr, Kilia, Corrine, Alicia, Mithos … 

...Zelos.

And what had their deaths brought to this world?

“I’ll let them have it.”

The summon spirit looked at him, something in his gaze that Lloyd failed to notice.

“Is that truly what you wish for?”

Lloyd faced away from the dead planet, a look of absolute pain painting his features.

“No,” his voice cracked, “but it’s the right choice.”

And Origin held him in his four arms as he cried, full hearted sobs of grief and anguish.

He wanted his dads, both of them. He wanted Colette and Genis and Raine, Sheena, Presea, Regal having fun while eating one of the professor’s horrendous dishes. He wanted Zelos, alive and well and making stupid comments that would make everyone groan.

All he wanted was the happiness of simple moments. But he’d never find them again.

Just as he finished that last thought, a whisper reached his ear.

_ “In the face of pain, you have shown me the selflessness and compassion you are capable of.” _ the voice of Origin rang in a long forgotten tongue. _ “Let me return that compassion in kind.” _

“I-I didn’t get that. What were you saying?” 

Lloyd looked up into the eyes of the Ruler of All, All That Is, All That Will Be, and All That Ever Was.

And suddenly he was on his back, surrounded by green and the tweeting of birds.

Far in the distance, the light of the Oracle flashed.


	2. Old sights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lloyd has a nightmare

**“You never trusted me a single moment, did you?”** Somehow, Zelos’ words were crystal clear and yet the redhead was gurgling violently because of the blade that had slit his throat. Lloyd stared in horror. 

He didn’t mean it. He just wanted to stop him, not to- 

To-

**“S’alright bud. I understand.”** And his face started rotting, flesh falling apart, and so were the grass and trees.

Screams echoed chaotically all around him.

**“HOW COULD YOU?!”** Sheena shouted in his face, decomposing alive.

**“HELP ME!”** Genis dug his bleeding nails into Lloyd’s arm.

**YOU LEFT US TO DIE!”**

**“MONSTER!”**

**“YOU KILLED EVERYONE!”**

Each of his comrades took their turn, pushing and pulling and howling until Kratos stood in front of him, a look of pure hatred in his eyes.

He didn’t say a word but Lloyd could hear his thoughts loud and clear.

**_You were left in Iselia forest because I never wanted you to begin with._ **

One hand on each shoulder, his father pushed him into the abyss.

“URGH!” Lloyd violently gasped awake.

It took him a solid minute to calm his beating heart. He could feel the wild erratic thumping slowly fading as the adrenaline ran it’s course until finally, Lloyd could breathe normally again.

Blindly, he felt for the grass, needing the reassurance that the world was still alive.

“Of course it is, stupid.” he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Zelos was a recurring theme in his nightmares but the rest had been a new addition.

A not very welcome one, in his opinion.

Since he was awake, might as well get back on the road.

It had been a day since Lloyd had found himself in the meadows that surrounded the foot of Tethe'alla’s tower. Which had invited a number of questions including but not limited to: Why was the world separated again, why was Tethe'alla not dead and, most importantly, were his friends alive?

Hoping to find an answer, Lloyd had flown all day towards Altessa’s home. And wasn’t that a wild thought, that he could fly on his own without a reihard now.

But it was far more tiring than expected and he needed to take a fair number of breaks especially since the nightmares kept waking him up.

It did not help that Professor Sage had been the one carrying the wing-pack, meaning Lloyd had only the clothes on his back to keep the night cold at bay.

He sniffed at his clothes, pulling back with a grimace at the smell. 

A looooong soak in the water was in order.

Wings deployed, Lloyd took to the air, no doubt a beacon in the dark as they not only glowed with mana, like most of the other angels’, but were also unnecessarily large which forced him to remove them when on the ground, lest he fall backwards.

No doubt that anyone out at this hour would point in wonder at the sky.

Gaoracchia soon came in sight, and with it so did…

“...Ozette?”

Suddenly, Lloyd had a new destination in mind.


	3. Presea

Lloyd was lost, for lack of better words.

He only had the clothes on his back, barely a gald to his name and none of his companions around to help him straighten the situation out.

Well, almost.

“You really don’t remember, do you?”

Presea ignored him in favor of feeding her dead father. Lloyd winced. 

The body may have been here long enough not to stink anymore but that wasn’t the case for the rotten food in it’s open mouth.

If the sudden return of both worlds  _ and _ Ozette were not enough of a hint, Presea’s regression should have been. Something was amiss and Lloyd had a feeling it had something to do with Origin.

Presea stood from her chair, spoon clinking against the bowl on the tray she was holding. Upon closer inspection, Lloyd realised that the food left over…

“It was already rotten? Presea, what have you been eating all this time?!”

He gagged. No wonder Presea was so pale when they’d first met her. Did she just ignore it when she got sick and get on with her life? The idea of fetching inhibitor ore on his own that had first fleeted in his mind was already making him nervous, what with the amount and strength of the monsters in the mine. But leaving Presea alone in these conditions? Even worse than they had realised the first time around? No, he didn’t think he’d have it in him. Plus, there was also the entrance mechanism which was a pain in the-

_ Wait a second. _

“Presea?”

The girl paused from where she was storing away the bowl and cutlery without cleaning them first. Lloyd had to hold down another gag.

“You deliver wood to Meltokyo or something, right? When’s your next delivery?”

Presea blinked once. “The Church requires sacred wood every fifteenth. I will depart in three days.”

_ Perfect! _

“Then I’ll come with you! There’s someone in Meltokyo, if I find him then I’ll be able to get the inhibitor to make you a proper keycrest.”

Hopefully. If his theory was wrong then Regal might not be there at all. 

“Is that alright with you?”

She gave him a single nod and left with her axe, presumably to go cut wood.

Right. He had three days to waste so what could he do until then? 

Lloyd cringed, remembering the dishes. That might be a good start. 

Removing his filthy gloves, Lloyd started on the task, pulling all of the plates, bowls, glasses and cutlery out of the cupboards and scrubbing the rot and mold residue away. Not his favorite activity by far but even he wasn’t lazy enough not to do the dishes in this situation. Laundry will have to be next considering the state of Presea’s own clothes and he should probably heat some water so that they could both take a bath when she came back. It would be unfair to do so now and leave her with cold water.

And so that’s how he spent most of his day. And when he was done with cleaning, Lloyd got to fixing. He found a hammer and nails and got back to work. The shelves were a quick fix and so were the wobbly floor planks. The broken chair, however, was beyond all hope. A couple of cupboard hinges were in need of replacing but Lloyd would just have to ask his dad- wait no, this wasn’t Iselia. The local smith, then. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too costly.

Speaking of costs, Lloyd frowned at the food he’d found in Presea’s pantry.

As expected from his earlier discovery, it was all rotten. The problem was, some of it hadn’t even been dented into. There was a half green hardened loaf of bread and not a bite of that bread was missing. Disgusted, Lloyd threw it all away, hoping Presea would not murder him for that and took his meagre amount of gald to the shops and bought enough _ fresh _ food for the next few days along with some more soap which the vendor seemed grateful for. 

Right, he forgot he smelled like a dead skunk.

Thankfully, the water he’d drawn earlier reached a satisfying temperature just as Presea came back home.

Lloyd ushered her to the tub, only able to convince her by saying he’d take care of dinner and handing her some of her cleaned clothes. He’s pretty sure he got close to being kicked out at one point but in the end she let him stay. After what must have been Presea’s first correct meal in a long  _ long _ time they both went to sleep, Presea in her bed and Lloyd on the kitchen floor.

Lloyd crossed his fingers for a nightmare free night.

**Author's Note:**

> For future information, Lloyd's disguise to hide his identity is very similar to his prototype concept art which you can find here:  
> https://i.imgur.com/R4784mh.jpg
> 
> To be honest I like this design better than the canon one but at the same time it wouldn't quite fit his personality.  
> Thankfully though, this OOC Lloyd is angsty enough to pull the looks :D


End file.
